Lea Mot
by plumtuckered
Summary: While assisting a research colony with repairs, Trip has his heart stolen by one of the female colonists.


This was semi-inspired by the child in "Marauders". Enterprise and it's cast of characters don't belong to me.  
  
Note from author: I have to say I have so very much enjoyed the stories based on Enterprise I've found here, specifically those centered around Tucker. I am in awe of the talented writers who submit their work to this site!  
  
LEA MOT  
  
Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III was tired. More tired than he'd been in a long, long time. He sat next to the Calvokian generator, working to get it running again. It was late, approaching midnight, he thought. The chief engineer and his commanding officer and best friend, Captain Jonathan Archer, had come down to the planet's surface three days ago to pick up the Calvokian scientist, Julra Mot. The doctor had discovered a plant that would cure a disease that had plagued his home planet for decades. Enterprise had been called to transport the man and his discovery away from his research colony to his home. A violent storm had moved in suddenly, making it impossible for them to fly the shuttlepod out safely. The ferocious winds had left the colony in shambles while the ten colonists and their two visitors hid in underground shelters. Trip had offered his services to the colonists while Archer and Enterprise shuttled Julra home. His offer of assistance had been gratefully accepted. Now, as he tightened another bolt, he felt a sense of accomplishment. The little colony was back up and running. He had worked for hours without rest, but it was worth it. They had power and shelter again.  
  
"Commander, you should get to bed," said Teala Mot as she knelt down beside him. She was the doctor's wife and she had offered her home to Trip during his stay. She was a around the same age as Captain Archer, Trip guessed.  
  
"I'm almost done," Trip grunted as he finished tightening the last bolt. He flipped a switch and the generator hummed to life. He looked at Teala and grinned. She patted his arm and smiled brightly.  
  
"Finished," she said happily. She stood and pushed her thick black hair over her shoulders. "Now, it's time for you to get some much deserved sleep."  
  
"I won't argue with you there, ma'am," Trip stood and twisted at the waist to loosen the kinks. It still surprised him how much he towered over the Calvokians. They were short but stocky people. They all had black hair, charcoal eyes, and fair skin. They had small ridges that ran up each side of their small noses and disappeared into their hairlines, and very round faces. They were a kind, intelligent, gentle species and Trip had been treated as one of their tight-knit group instead of the outsider he actually was.  
  
He followed Teala into her tiny home. A cot had been set up in the corner of the front room and he sat down on it, suppressing a yawn.  
  
"Enterprise should be back tomorrow with your husband. I imagine Lea is excited to see her daddy," he leaned over and removed his Star Fleet issued boots. Lea was a little girl of nearly five. She had trailed after Trip the entire time he'd been there, listening to him tell stories of far away places. She had absolutely wrapped the commander around her little finger. She had completely stolen his heart from the moment he saw her huge dark eyes looking up at him.  
  
"She is excited but I think she realizes you'll be leaving soon after," Teala switched off the light in the tiny kitchen then turned to face Trip. "She's really been taken with you, Commander."  
  
"The feelings mutual. She's a wonderful little girl, ma'am. It'll be hard to say goodbye." Trip looked down at the floor and sighed.  
  
"I'll see you in the morning," Teala said softly. Trip glanced up at her and nodded.  
  
"Good night."  
  
_________________________________________  
  
Trip could feel the warmth of the morning sun on his face as it streamed through the tiny windows in the room but he couldn't bring himself to open his eyes. Then he felt a little hand tentatively touch his where it rested on his chest.  
  
"Commander Trip?"  
  
Trip made a grumpy snorting sound. He heard a little giggle then the touch on his hand again. Suddenly he sat up, sweeping the little girl into his arms. He playfully tickled her and was rewarded with her magical laughter.  
  
"Good morning, Lea," he smiled. The big dark eyes looked up at him. She sat on his lap, her tiny hand absently playing with his much bigger one.  
  
"You leave today, don't you Commander Trip?" her voice was soft and high. Trip felt his heart melt. He pulled the child into a warm hug and kissed the top of her head.  
  
"Yeah, sweet girl, I do," he whispered. She climbed out of his lap and tried to pull him to his feet. He groaned playfully and Lea giggled again.  
  
"Come here. I want to give you something," she pleaded. She pulled with all her strength on his arm. Trip smiled and acted like she'd gotten him to his feet all by herself. He only then noticed Teala standing in the kitchen watching with a smile on her round face. He nodded at her.  
  
"Morning, ma'am."  
  
He let Lea pull him into her small room. She let go of his hand and picked up a piece of paper from a tiny table. She handed it to him.  
  
"I made this for you!" she squeaked gleefully. She'd drawn a picture for him. "It's you and me and we're meeting an alien on a different world!" She looked up at him, her eyes filled with pride.  
  
"Well, I can see that it's me, Lea. It looks just like me!" He picked up the little girl and hugged her again. "Thank you, sweet girl. I'll keep it with me forever!" He carried her out into the living room where Teala had set up a table. Three bowls of steaming hot cereal that reminded Trip of oatmeal, sat waiting. They all took a seat. Trip carefully folded up the picture and slid it into a pocket of his uniform. He patted the pocket and winked at Lea, who sat across from him. She smiled then took a huge bite of her cereal.  
  
Trip spent the rest of the morning playing games with Lea. He chased her and tickled her, trying to memorize the sound of her laughter. They were playing hide and seek among some boulders when Trip heard the familiar hum of the approaching shuttlepod. He squinted up through the noon sun and saw the pod set down several meters from the colony. He then felt a tiny hand grab his.  
  
"They're here, Commander Trip," a soft little voice said. He looked down into the little round face and big dark eyes. He couldn't find his voice so he simply picked up the little girl and held her close. She wrapped her little arms tightly around his neck. He started walking back towards the colony, carefully keeping Lea in his arms. As they approached, Captain Archer was just stepping out of the pod. He was quickly followed by Julra. Trip heard a squeal and saw Teala run from her house into the waiting arms of her husband. Lea shifted in Trip's arms and now saw her father. The commander set her down and watched her bound across the few remaining meters to wrap her arms around her daddy's legs. Julra and Teala parted and Julra swept Lea up and swung her around. She laughed merrily.  
  
"Hi Daddy!"  
  
Trip watched the happy reunion and smiled. Archer came up beside him and patted him on the back.  
  
"Looks like everything's back to normal, Trip. You did a great job here."  
  
"Had lots of help, sir," he responded quietly. He could see Archer watching him from the corner of his eye.  
  
"You okay?" the captain asked with concern. Trip simply nodded again then started towards the Mot's house to gather his tools together. His heart felt like it was shattering inside of his chest.  
  
Captain Archer watched his friend walk slowly into the small house. He then watched as the other colonists gathered around Julra. They were all talking excitedly, shaking hands and hugging. Trip came back towards him, his took kit in his hand.  
  
"What's going on?" he asked as he tossed the kit inside the pod door. He turned back around and continued watching the joyous scene before them.  
  
"The cure Julra discovered is working quickly. I think he's telling everyone that they'll be leaving soon to go back home. My guess is there's going to be a pretty big celebration on their home world."  
  
"Are we taking them all with us then?" Trip asked. Archer could hear the hope in the commander's voice but he had to shake his head.  
  
"No. There's a Vulcan transport ship in the area now. They're better suited to move the colonists and their supplies. Enterprise isn't exactly set up to store all of this plus provide quarters to ten additional people," he explained. He looked at Trip and noticed his friend's sad expression. He chose not to say anything more as Julra and Teala approached followed closely by the others. The little girl, Lea, was still in her father's arms but her eyes were fixed on Trip. Realization came over Archer and he lifted a comforting hand to Trip's shoulder. He smiled knowingly as Trip looked at him.  
  
"Commander Tucker, thank you so much for helping us here!" Julra exclaimed. He put his daughter down and took Trip's hand, giving it a hearty shake. Trip looked down into the man's face and grinned.  
  
"My pleasure, sir," he said. Teala stepped up and hugged him.  
  
"We'll miss you," she said as she squeezed him tightly.  
  
"Thank you for your hospitality, ma'am," he replied, returning her hug. Archer stood aside as everyone took his or her turn hugging his chief engineer and thanking him. He chuckled to himself and shook his head. Trip did have a way with people, he thought. He watched as Trip bent down to talk softly with the little girl, Lea. He patted her head affectionately then rose and turned toward the pod. The colonists all began walking back to their homes. Trip's head was down as he walked toward Archer and he wiped quickly at his nose with his sleeve.  
  
"Commander Trip!"  
  
Trip turned in time to catch Lea as she leaped into his arms from a dead run. She was crying as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.  
  
"I'll miss you, Commander Trip," she sobbed. Trip held her for several long moments then gently put her down.  
  
"I'll miss you too, sweet girl," he said softly, kneeling down next to her. He brushed the tears from Lea's round cheeks then kissed her on the forehead. "You take good care of your mommy and daddy, you hear?" He kissed her forehead again then rose. Lea walked back toward her waiting parents but she kept turning back to look at Trip. He waved at her and she waved back. Archer smiled warmly at his best friend as the commander entered the shuttlepod. He thought he caught the shimmer of tears on his friend's face but didn't say anything. The captain followed his chief engineer into the pod and closed the hatch behind them. Trip sat in the pilot's seat, busily running through pre-flight checks. Archer could hear him sniffing occasionally but he remained quiet.  
  
____________________________________________  
  
As soon as they were back on board Enterprise and had cleared bio-scan, Trip headed to his quarters. He was tired and felt kind of empty inside. He kept hearing Lea's magical laugh and kept picturing her big charcoal eyes looking up at him. He keyed in his code and the door opened. He switched on the lights then closed the door behind him. Walking over to his bed, he let himself collapse on it and put an arm up across his eyes. The door bell chimed.  
  
"Come in," he yelled reluctantly. He pulled his arm away to see Captain Archer standing in the doorway.  
  
"You okay, Trip?" he asked. He hit a button and the door slid closed. He came over and stood by the bed. Trip didn't feel like responding and he put his arm back over his eyes. Then he sighed and nodded.  
  
"Lea really got to you, didn't she?" the captain asked gently.  
  
"Yeah.....yeah.....she did," Trip admitted. He layed his other hand on his chest and heard the rustle of paper. "Oh, I forgot!" He swung his legs off his bed, barely avoiding kicking a surprised Archer. He carefully unzipped the pocket in his uniform and pulled out the picture Lea had given him. He unfolded it and then chuckled as he looked at it. He turned it so Captain Archer could see it.  
  
"That's me, cap'n," he said grinning, pointing to one of the figures. Archer laughed.  
  
"It looks just like you!"  
  
Trip stood and walked to his desk. He took a frame that held one of his engineering commendations and removed the certificate. He then replaced it with Lea's picture and put the frame back on the desk.  
  
"There!" he said proudly.  
  
"Come on, Trip," Archer said coming up beside him to look at the picture. "Let's get something to eat. You can tell me all about this very special little girl."  
  
Trip nodded. Archer stepped to the door and opened it. Trip reached out his hand and touched the picture. He inhaled deeply then let out the breath slowly. He looked at his captain who was smiling warmly at him. Yep, that little girl had definitely stolen his heart, he thought to himself. He felt the warm comfort of affection come over him and he heard her laugh again. Then he walked past Captain Archer into the corridor. As the two friends walked together to the mess hall, Trip told his captain all about the time he'd spent with Lea, his "sweet girl".  
  
THE END 


End file.
